It was no surprise that French striker Karim Benzema claimed the 2022 Ballon d’Or award held in Paris on Monday night. The 34-year-old thoroughly deserved to clinch the prize following an outstanding year.
However, there are controversies surrounding some of the awards given in other categories. These categories include the Kopa Trophy and the Ballond’Or Féminin.
Alongside Benzema, Thibaut Courtois clearly merited to win the ‘Yashin Trophy.’ This is an association football award presented annually by France Football to the best performing goalkeeper.
The award is named after Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin, and the winner is chosen by former Ballon d’Or winners. It was created in 2019.
Indeed, Courtois made 59 saves during the 2021/22 Champions League campaign. That is the most ever recorded in a single season. He also made nine saves in the final, also the most ever recorded.
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For Benzema, he notched a total of 50 goals in 56 games for club and country in 2021-22. He went further to create 16 other goals. He was also instrumental as his teams won the La Liga, Supercopa, Nations League and Champions League.
His illustrious year was also rewarded with awards like the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, UCL Player of the Season, UCL Golden Boot, as well as the Pichichi Trophy.
Winners of the FIFA Ballon d’Or are chosen by international journalists and the coaches and captains of the national teams under FIFA’s jurisdiction.
The Kopa Trophy
Barcelona whizkid Gavi won this year’s Kopa Trophy award, closely followed by Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga. Bayern Munich and Germany’s Jamal Musiala placed third ahead of Borussia Dortmund’s sensational youngster Jude Bellingham.
A section of football lovers and analysts around the world have however claimed Gavi did not deserve the award. Some say Bellingham should have won it while others say Musiala should have taken home the award.
It should be noted that the winner of the Kopa Trophy is voted on by previous Ballon d’Or winners. Former players like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Marco Van Basten, Lionel Messi and Luka Modric all vote to elect a winner.
Other past winners who vote for the winner in the category are Michel Platini, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldo de Lima.
In selecting the winner, these ex-players may not necessarily satisfy the thirst of fans who want their supposed ‘faves’ to win it.
In truth, Gavi, Musiala and Bellingham have all done well for their clubs and countries. Their stats (goals and assists) mayn not be staggering or mouthwatering but their in-game performances are outstanding.
Camavinga has also been a special revelation, no wonder Real Madrid splashed €40m to secure his services in 2021. Though the Frenchman has been largely used from the bench since arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu, he rose to second in this year’s rankings.
Across various social media, the debate has centered around the best player among Gavi, Musiala, Camavinga, Bellingham and even Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (who finished 8th). If any of the other lads had won it, the same conversations would still have been generated.
These players are top talents and caused the selectors a nice headache in their decision-making process. That’s unlike the 2022 Ballon d’Or men’s award which was clearly Karim Benzema’s to lose.
Nuno Mendes, Josko Gvardiol, Ryan Gravenberch, Bukayo Saka, Karim Adeyemi, and Florian Wirtz complete the top 10.
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The Ballon d’Or Féminin
For the second year in a row, Barcelona midfielder Alexia Putellas has won the Ballon d’Or Féminin award. She becomes the first woman to win the award twice since its launch in 2018.
The 28-year-old was announced winner despite being sidelined since June with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
She claimed the prize ahead of Arsenal’s Beth Mead and Chelsea’s Samantha Kerr, who finished second and third, respectively.
Critics have condemned the nominations for this category saying none of Olympique Lyonnais Féminin players even made the top five. Actually that’s quite controversial judging by the fact that Lyon won the 2021-22 Women’s UEFA Champions League and the French league title.
VfL Wolfsburg’s Lena Sophie Oberdorf and Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmatí completed the top five. This particular award has generated a lot of controversies all over.
This is in contrast to the 2022 Ballon d’Or men’s award given to Benzema as many feel Lyon have been robbed. Analysts believe at least one or two of the French side’s players should have made the top five list.
What do you think?
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